Pages

Friday, February 23, 2018

I am Raising a Readasaurus!

Last summer, our family participated in the TD Summer Reading Club, which I wrote about HERE.
I was excited to know that our local public libraries have put great
effort into being more accessible and accommodating to people who
experience reading in different ways. They have a good selection of
audio books available, as well as print materials in alternative
formats, such as e-text and braille.

We recently received another package from the CNIB, that included our very own Readasaurus Kit - a fun and practical tool to help develop essential early literacy skills in children with vision loss.

Brennen has cortical visual impairment (CVI), which means that he has a decreased visual response due to damage to his brain. For Brennen, it is not an issue with his eyes, but more an issue with how his brain interprets visual input. CVI is a brain problem rather than an eye problem, and it is common in individuals with cerebral palsy.

Our girlie, on the other hand, has no vision, and we are constantly searching for ways to stimulate her and to enhance how she experiences the world. Sighted children often learn by watching and imitating, but children who are blind or partially sighted need hands-on, active learning opportunities.

The Readasaurus Kit was developed by the CNIB with input from early intervention specialists, teachers,
rehabilitation workers and library staff as a fun tool for parents and children. The kit contains a Family Guide outlining the importance of literacy and
family story time, as well as highlighting the types of books to share with children with
vision loss.

When I opened our package, I was excited to dive in to
the materials, which included braille stickers for common words that appear in many books for kids, and an
activity book of "Words to see, touch and hear". There was also a magnifier and braille ruler, some shape stickers and magnets, a package of Wikki Stix, and some glow-in-the-dark "braille is fun" wrist bands!

What I love about this kit is that while it includes lots of fun activities for our children, it is also focused on giving parents information about how to best help them learn. There are ideas on how to teach your child to listen, how to help them gather information about the world through touch and movement, and strategies to help your child collect, organize and understand information.

I am so excited about this! Like I said, Andrew and I are eager to find ways to help our children learn and explore, and to offer them new ways to enrich their lives every day. We had gotten into a bit of a routine with Brennen, after thirteen years of figuring out what works and what doesn't work for him, but with two little ones in the mix, our life is in constant motion so I am grateful for resources like this one that push us to get creative and try new things.

Our girlie just loved the Activity Book. We spent some time on the tactile pages, letting her feel the numbers and letters at her own pace before moving on to the next one.

We then used finger paint on the colouring pages! I love that the lines of the pictures are raised, creating a textured border outlining the images.

We have been having a great time with the activities included in the Readasaurus Kit, and I am excited to try some of the ideas suggested in the Family Guide, like how to adapt or modify existing books, and how to make our own books with textures and tactile elements. The guide also contains many helpful links to online resources specific to promoting literacy in kids with vision loss.

Parenting children with special needs is a constant learning process, but it is so incredibly rewarding. Our children have changed our lives in so many positive ways, and we will continue to invest our time, love, and energy into each of them, celebrating their accomplishments and supporting their unique needs. It is an honour and a joy to watch them develop, and with help from organizations like the CNIB, we will continue to grow and learn right along with them.